Electric motors are being increasingly used in vehicles to power the same; a drive torque being either alternatively or additionally used to propel the vehicle. In terms of the number and costs of the components, it has proven to be an advantageous alternative for one single electric motor to be used to drive one axle, and thus two wheels of the vehicle. In contrast to classic combustion engines, electric motors have a different power characteristic, requiring that an intermediate transmission be configured in the drive train in a variant design between the electric motor and the driven wheels.
A detailed description of an electric drive is derived from one article from the periodical ATZ 113th year, May 2000, pp. 360-365 by Erik Schneider, Frank Fickl, Bernd Cebulski and Jens Liebold, entitled: Highly Integrative and Flexible Electric Drive Unit for Electric Vehicles. This constitutes the most proximate related art. It describes a drive unit for an axle of a vehicle which includes an electric motor that is configured concentrically and coaxially to a bevel-gear differential; a switchable two-speed planetary gear train, which is likewise positioned coaxially to the electric motor, respectively the bevel-gear differential, being configured in the power train between the electric motor and the bevel-gear differential for purposes of gear reduction.